1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to vehicle systems and networks, such as railway systems including trains travelling in a track or rail network, and in particular to data management systems and methods for use in managing conditional authorities in a vehicle network, preferably a vehicle network of multiple trains operating in a track network.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicle systems and networks exist throughout the world, and, at any point in time, a multitude of vehicles, such as cars, trucks, buses, trains, and/or the like, are travelling throughout the system and network. In order to effectively manage and control such vehicles, a central controller, e.g., intermediate or central dispatch (or some back office server), tracks the vehicles, e.g., trains, travelling in the network. This management and control is typically implemented and operated based upon identifying the position of each train in the network, or a specific portion of the network. For example, this central controller may issue authorities that provide an indication (or permission) for a vehicle to move into or operate within a specified portion of the network, such as permitting a train to move into or operate within a block or section of track. These authorities may also take the form of a conditional authority, where the target train or vehicle (e.g, the named train or vehicle) is not permitted or authorized to move into or operate within a portion of the network until one or more other vehicles are clear.
In one exemplary and existing system, a railroad dispatcher issues a form-based movement authority to a train that is not in effect upon its issuance, but rather is dependent on the movement of another train or other trains. This provides the dispatcher with a degree of flexibility in managing workload, allowing him or her to “work ahead” on issuing authorities in a heavily trafficked track warrant area or territory. In one example, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, the authority issued to train (A) includes the condition that it is “in effect after arrival” of up to three trains (B), (C), and (D) moving in an opposing direction. The authority may include an “at” location or “entry point” specifying where the trains will meet (or where train (A) will enter the portion of track), or alternatively or additionally, the authority specifies at least the last identifying train (e.g., train (D), after which train (A) is authorized to proceed. The authority is conditional in that it is not in effect until all of the trains (B), (C), and (D) are confirmed to have passed the “at” location or entry point, or that the last identifying train is clear.
In another example, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, the condition “in effect behind” is a condition where the order of movement of trains (A), (B), (C), and (D) are all in the same direction. Some authority forms refer to this condition as “do not foul limits ahead.” Further, in this example, the “at” location or entry point may be augmented with a specified distance, where each of trains (B), (C), and (D) must be passed the “at” location or entry point by some distance before the authority for train (A) to pass the “at” location or entry point is effective. Also, as discussed above, the authority may include the identity of the last identifying train (e.g., train (D)), after which train (A) may safely proceed behind.
In certain railroad and train control and management systems, e.g., the I-ETMS® of Wabtec Corp., enforcement of these conditional authorities is required in order to prevent a train from entering an unauthorized section of track until the condition for making the authority effective has occurred. In one exemplary embodiment of an existing system, the location of the named trains (referred to as “identifying trains”) in the conditional authority are confirmed by the train crew via a prompt or similar interaction on the display of the on-board computer on the locomotive. The terms “identifying train” or “identifying locomotive” refer to the train or locomotive listed in the movement authority dataset of a conditional authority as being in the lead of one of the trains for which the train holding that authority must wait. Assuming the crew answers the prompt correctly, the appropriate protection between trains is achieved. However, in some situations, the crew may respond incorrectly, assuming a train has passed when, in reality, it has not. This creates a situation where the authority of the train or trains named in the conditional authority may be violated, possibly resulting in a collision. The Federal Railroad Association has expressed its concern regarding this potential hazard.
Continuing with the above exemplary embodiment of an existing implementation, the crew is presented with a prompt to indicate the arrival of the trains named in the conditional authority, while the train is located outside of the limits of that authority. “Soft-key” labels are displayed to the operator, and these labels indicate the locomotive identification (e.g., reporting mark and vehicle number) of the identifying train/locomotive, and the timetable direction (i.e., North, South, East, or West) in which the train is travelling. An example operator display with such prompts is illustrated in FIG. 3 (where no trains in the conditional authority have yet “arrived”). As each train arrives, the crew presses the soft-key for that train. The soft-key label changes from red to blue, and the soft-key text changes from “due” to “arrived” (as shown in FIG. 4 (where one train in the conditional authority has “arrived”)). If the crew presses the key in error, pressing the same key again changes the color back to red and the text back to “due.” With reference to FIG. 5, when the key for the last train is pressed, an “all arrived” soft-key label is displayed. Pressing this key serves as a final confirmation and removes the zero (0) mph target over the authority limits.
While the above-discussed methodology and process facilitates the effective management of trains subject to conditional authorities, there is room in the field of train management for improved systems and methods for managing, controlling, and tracking a plurality of trains moving within the track network.